Absolute Agony
by xxlovesuicide61xx
Summary: Severus experiences quite a reaction to Hermione's choice of clothing during an Order meeting. Thanks to Albus, Severus's summer at Grimmauld place turns out to be more interesting than he had hoped.
1. Chapter 1

Severus tightened his grip around his cock as his hand moved faster, his hips struggling to keep up with the rapid pace.

He hadn't planned on this, hadn't even wanted to do it. Hell, even as close to the edge as he was, he still didn't want to do it. But it was the only way. He hated himself for it. Sure, there were plenty of things on the increasingly lengthy list of things Severus Snape hated himself for, but this without a single doubt in his mind topped them all. Locking himself in the bathroom of his long-time — admittedly dead — rival's anciently decrepit old house and wanking off to the thought of the girl he loved more than anything, all because he couldn't stand to see her in a pair of shorts. Temperature be damned, Hermione had to know what awful things those bloody shorts were doing to him. What with her prancing around the whole bloody house in them, every man in the building stared, drooled, and flirted, irregardless of sexual identity or relationship status.

It was a new kind of torture— pure agony, absolute and unfiltered— for him to sit back and watch her tight little ass bob around the house and have to know that he couldn't touch it, or any other part of her for that matter, for another ten months. Ten long, horrific months until she could finally be his. Completely. And she would. And when that day comes, he knows that he'll think back on the agony she caused him with those microscopic shorts and fuck her just a little bit harder, push himself in just a little bit deeper, and slap her ass until it's red underneath him. The thought of any clothing touching her sensitive skin, let alone those thrice damned shorts, will be the furthest thing from her mind.

Feeling the sweat trickle down the back of his neck, Severus raised his head from its position braced against the cool tile wall and bit down into his forearm to muffle the groans of her name from his lips. The image of what she would be like under him flashed behind eyes clenched shut as he spilled himself, his cum practically florescent as it landed against his robes.

Severus tried to calm his thundering heart, fighting to hold off his post-orgasm haziness. He had already been in the bathroom, been away from the meeting, for far too long. He had to get back out there before suspicious minds started looking. He turned around and turned on the warm tap with his clean hand, washing his cum covered one off, before leaning into the sink, perched on his toes, letting the warm water run over his too sensitive cock, cleaning it by hand. Magic would've been faster, but it only served to make him feel worse after the act was done, wiping it away as if nothing had happened. He would clean up his own messes. Until he had Hermione to do it for him, anyway.

He tucked his cock back into his robes, magicking away the remaining cum from his robes, knowing that no amount of real running water would serve to clean it off until it was properly washed. He returned to the meeting, satisfied but by no means sated.

Severus took up his perch against the back wall of Grimmauld Place's kitchen in a shadowy corner and looked on as his little Gryffindor lioness continued antagonizing him, bent as she was over the table to show something to a Weasley. Severus couldn't help but observe the thin piece of string dividing her ass into two perfect halves, only noticeable to one looking for it. Of course she was wearing a thong, why should she make this any easier on him. He cursed under his breath as he felt his cock twitch. Ten long months of agony awaited him. The future had never looked so deliciously painful.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Back by popular demand! It was supposed to be the one shot, so I'm not 100% on where I'm taking the story yet. Expect about 5 chapters. Love it or hate it, let me know! I hope you guys enjoy. :D

SSHGSSHG

Merlin he missed the days when she would wear those damned denim shorts. It was far easier on his him when she did. Oh, he thought it was bad then. Severus had no idea what the fates had in store for him. Or his now painfully hard cock.

In a truly atypical turn of events, Britain was experiencing its hottest summer in nearly fifty years. While the residents of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black lost a shimmer in their eye upon the owner's death, they certainly hadn't lost their ability to complain. And despite his imminent doom, Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to have lost his sparkle when it came to making the people he cared about happy before he killed them.

Albus had been keeping tabs on the various ways that muggles kept cool in the summer, particular of the wet, outdoor variety. It began with something as simple as a sprinkler in the rather sad looking backyard. Just one. Then two. Then four. Then he moved onto the ever-popular water balloons. After that came the water balloon slingshots. And then his collaborative efforts with the Weasley twins led into the magical equivalent of Super Soakers. That had all begun roughly two weeks ago- each new addition removing another section of clothing from the participants.

Refusing to lose to his new and apparently much more powerful than Voldemort opponent known as mother nature, Albus transformed what had been a bland and decrepit back garden into a summer oasis, complete with pool, diving board, and a tiki bar.

For the last three days every occupant of Grimmauld Place, from Mad Eye Moody to Molly Weasley to Albus himself, had for all intents and purposes lived in a swim suit. Every occupant except him. Most of the bathing suits were respectable, albeit strange in their presentation. Albus insisted on wearing a fifties style bathing outfit, for which everyone was grateful. Most males under the age of 70 stuck to the newly popular long swim trunks, accepting Arthur and Mad Eye, whose ensembles included tank tops. Yet again, people were grateful. At the behest and bereavement of her mother, Ginny Weasley wore a conservative one piece. Overall, not as awful as Severus would've expected.

But then there was his lovely Hermione Granger.

Hermione fucking Granger in her damned green and white stripped bikini. Hermione fucking Granger showing off tiny tattoos that until that point no one had known about. Hermione fucking Granger lounging out of the water in the pool on an elongated inflatable raft, her still wet skin glistening in the sunlight. Hermione fucking Granger, lying stomach down on a deck chair, the ties of her bikini top undone to keep from getting tan lines. Hermione fucking Granger and her fucking bikini causing his damned fucking erection.

He missed her shorts. They were nowhere as near as painful as this. Severus had locked himself in his room up on the third floor, refusing to be shoved into the frivolities. He had his own reasons, ranging from body insecurities to hatred of the company provided. But it was mostly that damn bikini.

He had a perfect view of the backyard from his window, and he had spent each day sat there, feeling like a complete lecherous bastard, his cock out and in his hand and Hermione in clear view. He would watch her, infatuated, edging himself until he could no longer take it, usually being set off by her letting out a laugh or a squeal at being thrown into the pool by one of the boys. He would come back down to earth, the guilt crushing his spine into his seat, until he caught sight of her and the cycle would repeat itself. Again and again. For three days. He didn't know whether to be impressed that he had a faster recovery time than he had expected, or to be embarrassed that he was such a pining, pervy asshole. He felt the guilt irregardless, it was just a matter of what type of mood he found himself in after he came.

Once he had debated going down there and joining them. Joining her. But only once. Severus often noted the surprising ease with which Hermione allowed the males in her life to touch her. It was nothing for the twins to trap her between their bodies, extreme amounts of skin touching more extreme amounts of skin, grab hold of her wrists and ankles and swing her into the pool. She didn't seem to mind it when she had Lupin's head between her legs- facing away from her crotch, thankyouverymuch- during a game of what he heard them refer to as chicken, his hands often times traveling high onto her thighs for the sake of balance. She didn't even seem concerned on the occasions when Moody would "accidentally fall" into her- the man only had one and a half legs, why he expected to be able to easily get in and out of a pool, Severus would never understand. Taking all of this information into account, Severus had wondered what if would be like if he would show up down there, ready to interact with the others and come into contact with her sweet skin.

He thought about what her legs would feel like wrapped around his head in a game of chicken- even more preferable if his head were facing inward. He thought about how he could turn his head slightly and casually kiss the skin of her inner thighs, blaming it on a slip of his foot or something of the like. He thought about what her hair would feel like, haloing around her as she laid back and floated naturally in the water. How it would tickle his skin. He thought about how her lips would feel against his underwater, about how they would share their breath until they were both drunk with lust and forced to surface. He thought about what she would feel like from the inside, his fingers slipping into her thrice damned bikini, her own wet heat a beautiful deliverance from the cool, clear water surrounding them. He thought about what it would feel like for her hand to reach into his swim trunks and wrap her hand around him and jerk him off, the water churning around them from her movements, until his come shot into the pool and blended in with the water, forcing her to bathe in it. He thought about so many things that could happen if he went down there.

But then he thought about it from a realistic standpoint and decided that fuck all, he was better as a lecherous pervert. He wasn't doing her any harm from up here- it was no different from his normal private wankfests after he had spent the day staring at her. If he got a live feed while his hands went at it, all the better for him.

But he wasn't sure that he could take much more of the agony that he was feeling of watching her day after day and not being able to touch her. While not watching her and going about his daily tasks would seem the obvious choice, he knew that he could never let the opportunity pass by him. It would be like opening a bottle of century old elf-made wine and pouring it down the drain. He couldn't do it. He couldn't exist knowing that she was near, happy, half naked and dripping wet. He could only watch.

Severus wasn't stupid. He knew that he had to content himself with this current choice of lifestyle, that even if he did have a bleed in his brain and decide to take a dive off the board into the pool, that he still wouldn't be able to touch her. Nothing meaningful, at least. Not in the way the he needed. He might still be able to touch her as the others could, gentle barely there accidental touches on typically thought of as normal, nonsexual patches of skin, but he knew that given the choice, given the time, given the permission, he would take his lips and his tongue and his teeth to every inch of her body and treat it as though it were something as sexual and as precious as her breasts or her lips or her nipples or her clit or her cunt. Hell, he didn't come close to having something that could be remotely considered a foot fetish, but he would give anything for five minutes alone with one of her toes. Her needed her. Needed to feel her. To taste her. To know her, to show her, to give her everything she wanted and more. His cock was so damn hard and he needed her and he was sure that it was killing him.

She was killing him.

And fuck him if she wasn't so bloody gorgeous while she did it.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Short, but I figured better than nothing. Special thank you to RhodaBush on FFN for pushing me into this direction. I think you'll all enjoy the final product. Most of this chapter was written while I was at the beach, so also a special thank you to the random girl in a black bikini who gave me the idea for the ending of the story. Two chapters left. Please enjoy! :D

Severus sat at his window, again staring down at her, this time trying to do something less creepy. Well… slightly. He was enacting one of his few non-magical hobbies in an attempt to do something productive. He had transfigured a small table near his chair beneath the window and brought out his sketch book. Today, he was drawing her.

He knew that if they were found that he risked some serious backlash; after all, drawing someone in a bathing suit was almost just as creepy as staring at someone in a bathing suit, and by staring he meant masturbating. He had drawn her a few times before, but this was the first time he had endeavored to draw her entire body, as well as having her as a moving subject. He usually went back through his pensive and took a magical version of a muggle photograph so he had a reference point to draw from. Some might find the magic it took a waste of time and energy, but it was to draw her, which was a crime of passion in itself. Not to mention that despite what most people thought, he really was rather passionate about his artwork.

So. He sat on his chair by the desk, pencil in one hand and cock in the other. He was still watching her prance around half naked, he couldn't be expected to endure the pain of his cock trapped in his pants, even if he was trying to be a bit less perverted.

She was lying back on a raft, the sun reflecting from the water onto her skin in a cool, blended geometric pattern. He had been trying to get the angle of her left hip just right, but couldn't quite seem to manage it. He kept getting distracted by the small tattoo placed directly above her hipbone, a small music note, lying just above the tie on her bikini bottoms. He had no idea what its significance was, but he wanted to find out. Desperately. Preferably up-close and very, very personal.

It was just a rough sketch, but he was determined to get it right. Her beauty deserved his full effort.

He let go of his cock, biting back a sigh of disappointed loss, and pulled himself closer to the sketchbook. He narrowed his focus, pulling in his Death Eater abilities and blocked Hermione from his mind, focusing only on that one specific part of her body.

Within about ten minutes the sketch was drawn to perfection and Severus let his mind relax again. He looked at his work and then down at his muse and then back over at his still hard cock.

Fuck it all. He was going down there.

It was mid-afternoon, which usually meant that some of the adults would retire for awhile, the sun being just a bit too intense, as well as dinner needing to get started. That lowered his audience considerably. However, some of the children tended to get a bit overtly rambunctious this time of day, namely the Weasley twins. Severus knew that they would soon be bored over all of the quiet and relaxing from the adults and start something up that was loud and raucous. Hermione wouldn't be left floating on that raft for long.

Again, most of the attention wouldn't be on him. Shouldn't. He could do this. Couldn't he?

Severus cursed under his breath and began pacing around his room, still trying to talk himself out of it. The current vote stood at 6 to 1, his mind being the only "nay" vote. His entire body, on the other hand, gave a resounding "YAY" to the question of "Should we go down and get a better look at a soaking wet Miss Granger?". Each sense, plus his cock, had cheered at the notion. Severus now believed that his body was plotting against him, intending much more interaction with his interest instead of merely getting closer to her.

He stopped at the foot of his bed, hands in his hair, decision made. He was going to go down there, but decided that there was no shame in having to run back up to his room with his tail between his legs if it didn't go well. He didn't want to embarrass himself in front of her.

Tucking his still hard cock back into his shorts, he summoned a vial to one hand and his wand to the other. He downed the vial, trying not to think of the hit it was taking to his ego. He was a man that couldn't even control himself near the woman he cared for and needed an outside source to keep his cock from getting excited. It was a severe blow to his self control.

Severus looked down at his shorts, trying to decide what the appropriate material for a pair of swim trunks would be. He knew what they were supposed to look like, as well as the fact that they had to be waterproof, but beyond that he was lost. He closed his eyes, imagining the other men's trunks that he had seen, adding in his own touch of decoration and color, and transfigured the best he could.

Looking in the mirror, he was fairly satisfied with the results. Still black, but with a wide white line running down the outer sides of his hips and legs, a second, much smaller green line adding a pop of detail. They were made out of some strange fabric he was unfamiliar with, not exactly scratchy like wool, but still slidey in a weird kind of way. He rubbed his hands over them. The sound was odd, and it felt odd against his skin. They would work. He hoped.

Next, he set about covering up the scars that littered his body, as well as his Dark Mark. He didn't want the little dunderheads staring at it. The scars were easy enough, he had done it many a time before with a simple glamour charm. It had taken him years to find a way to cover the Mark, however, the Dark Lord insistent upon its constant exposure. It involved an intricate layering of glamour and makeup charms, with a few notice-me-not charms interspersed throughout to be on the safe side. He left his own personal tattoos exposed, hoping that they would distract from his presence down there. Finally, he used a sun protection spell. He absolutely abhorred being sunburnt and tended to avoid going out in the sun when he could— hence the pale skin. Besides, he had a reputation to uphold back at Hogwarts— someone could not possibly be as pale as he was and not be a vampire. He'd like to keep his skin pearly white, thankyouverymuch.

Setting his jaw, Severus headed out the door of his bedroom, determined. He could do this.

SSHGSSHG

By the time that he got down there, he found that his suspicions had indeed been correct. Some of the elder Order members were toweling off and Hermione was no longer on the raft. From what he could gather, George had swum below her and flipped her off of it completely. Severus felt almost sad for her. She had looked so peaceful. George Weasley rose two more spots on his "Don't piss me off" list.

He quietly stepped down off the last stair, but found that the entire yard had taken notice of him. Damn. So much for a quiet entry.

"Severus, m'boy!" Albus was calling to him from behind the bar. "It's so wonderful for you to finally join us." The old man was beaming. "Come. Come get a drink and relax." Albus started actively beaconing to him and Severus knew he had to play nice if he wanted to stay around Hermione for the remaining afternoon.

His attempt to walk casually over to the other side of the yard did not go particularly well, and he found himself actually wanting whatever strange alcoholic concoction Albus had in a muggle blender. It was bright red, and evolution was telling Severus that it could be poisonous and rather dangerous to consume.

Albus got out a clear plastic cup and filled it with the frozen liquid.

"Here, Severus. Drink up and enjoy." Tentatively, Severus took a sip from the brightly colored straw and found himself pleasantly surprised. It may not have been a manly looking drink, or even an intimidating one, but damn Merlin if it didn't taste wonderful.

Noticing his face of shocked surprise, Albus answered the unspoken question. "It's a new recipe I discovered from the muggles this morning, Severus. It is called a Rum Runner." He pronounced Rum Runner in the way that old people sometimes do with words their are unfamiliar with, slowly and with each syllable unnecessarily enunciated.

Severus saved himself from laughing at his employer by taking another long sip before answering. "Thank you, Albus, it really is rather good."

The Headmaster leaned in closer to his employee over the bar, getting close enough to be able to speak at a whisper. "Truly, Severus, thank you. It means a lot to me that you're making this effort to be social. I know how difficult it is for you." Severus wasn't sure what to say, so he said nothing at all. He didn't want to answer in his usual brute tone, but he also didn't want to get emotional at Albus's true concern for his well being. Silence seemed to be the best response. Accepting this, Albus topped of Severus's cup, clapped him on the shoulder, and told him to enjoy himself.

He would. Merlin, how he hoped he would.

The sun was much brighter than he thought it would be, and Severus was quick to discover the many wonderful uses of sunglass. He transfigured a pair of dark glasses from a leaf by his foot and was pleased by his newfound ability to keep his eyes affixed wheresoever he desired, namely the body of of one Miss Hermione Jean Granger. Additional benefits include no one being able to tell where his eyes were, Albus having a much more difficult time if he wanted to skim the front of Severus's thoughts, and the rest of the Order being put off at the fact that he could be intimidatingly staring at any one of them.

He found a lounge chair near the bar that was partially shaded by one of Grimmauld's rare trees, as well as providing a perfect few of the pool. He glanced down toward his crotch, making sure that it would stay in check. He was pleased when he didn't feel so much as a twitch. He settled back into the chair, sipping his drink, and thinking that perhaps this wasn't as bad as he had thought it would be.


	4. Chapter 4

Severus had been spending his time leisurely enjoying being close to Hermione and really getting to notice the details he was otherwise unable to see from his window. He could see the sprinkling of freckles across her nose and cheeks that were brought out from the sun. He could see how the sun reflected off of her, bringing out flecks of gold in her eyes and spots of copper in her hair. If he thought that she was gorgeous from his window, she was absolutely stunning from down here. And that was just from the neck up.

Severus was well into his third Rum Runner by the time things really got interesting. The young males, plus Sirius and Remus, started yelling and wildly gesticulating, splashing water everywhere. Apparently they were trying to decide on chicken teams. The youngest male Weasley had been called inside by his mother to clean his appalling bedroom floor and the teams were uneven. This is where Hermione came in. The boys were fighting over who she got to pair up with- Hermione being the lightest person she was considered the best partner for the game. Being the mature adults the men were, it was decided that the only way to choose was to have a splash contest.

They all lined up at the diving board- Harry, Sirius, Remus, and the twins- before Hermione finally noticed what was going on. She had been reading on a lounge chair, soaking up some sun, and Severus had been appreciating the delicate way she handled turning each page. Assessing the situation, Hermione determined the issue and decided to lay back and enjoy the shows. There would be no stopping them at this point, anyway.

As Harry mounted the diving board, Hermione looked over at Severus. Catching his eye, she raised her eyebrow, glanced over at the manly display of masculinity that was being attempted, and looked back over at her professor, rolling her eyes and laughing.

Severus felt his heart start to beat irregularly, but managed to keep up with the conversation. He had to hold back a smile, understanding her unspoken conversation. He replied with an exasperated shake of his own head, knowing that she wasn't able to see his eyes. Did this count as speaking to her? He hoped it did. This was progress. She rarely sought him out on her own. This was good. Very good.

Harry took a flying leap, making it a third of the way across the pool, before landing with a flailing sploosh in the water. Overall not bad, but he didn't get points for distance. He swam to the side, clearing the way for Fred to go next.

Fred started far behind the board and took a long running start, nearly tripping when he jumped onto the board. He jumped, tucked into a ball, and did what would have been an impressive flip if he hadn't over rotated and landed face down, creating a relatively small splash.

George was next and thought he had learned from his brother's mistakes. He calmly walked to the end of the board, gave a firm salute to Hermione, spread his arms wide, and fell straight forward off of the board and into the water. True, he had covered the most surface area of the three so far, but his low speed led him to land with a hard smack to the front of his body and relatively no water disturbance.

Remus was next, looking a little unsure of himself. He stood around the halfway point of the board and took two huge strides, jumping up, landing on the spring part of the board, jumping back up with some impressive air, brought his legs up, and landed in an impressive cannon ball. A plume of water rose up, the most so far, but narrow nonetheless. He came up a moment later, having managed to reach the bottom of the pool, and swam over to join the others as judges on the side of the pool.

Sirius was last, and had a look of great concentration on his face. He stood at the far end of the board, took a running start, and put as much of his weight as possible into the jump on the spring. He launched into the air, pulled his knees up in a tuck at his waist and spread his arms wide, his elbows bent, his fists near his cheeks protecting his face. Twisting his lower body, he landed on an angle, his balled up legs landing first and his upper body landing with his arms making a smacking woosh. It was a bizarre amalgamation of a cannon ball and a belly flop, with his own unique ideas spreading in. Strange though it was, he clearly got the job done, the water from his splash reaching all the way to the shallow end of the pool. He was obviously the winner, much to the dismay of the other contestants.

Sirius emerged from the water, wallops of victory shouting from his mouth and a cocky smirk on his face. He was rather pleased with himself. Severus, however, was not. If looks could kill- a skill which Severus was still trying to master- Sirius Black would be face down floating in the pool. Severus didn't want him anywhere near Hermione, let alone in a game of chicken. The Potions Master looked over to the girl of his affections to gauge her reaction. She looked like she was trying to show that she wasn't displeased, but he could tell. She was about as unhappy with this arrangement as he was.

Hermione set her book aside, secluding it away under a towel to keep it safe from sun and water damage, something that Severus found rather endearing. She walked over to where the rest of the boys were, her swaying hips causing Severus to start drooling, and cleanly dove into the water, leaving not a drop out of place. The teams now decided, shoulders were mounted.

Harry managed to get on Fred's shoulders easily enough, but George had some trouble getting his lanky body around Remus's broader shoulders. Swimming over to Sirius, Hermione spun him around and shoved his head down, dunking him under the water. His head in both hands kept firmly in place, Hermione jumped and draped her legs over his shoulders, tucking her feet under his arms. His hands came up to her legs and he stood, needing air more than he was willing to admit. It was to be a three way game, and the teams were ready.

The group was confined in the middle of the pool, around the five foot mark. They were all easily able to stand there (excluding Hermione) and they would be safe when they fell off. This left both ends of the pool empty and relatively undisturbed. Severus polished off the rest of his drink and wondered if he would be able to actually join them in the pool. By himself of course, away from the action, but in the pool all the same. He found the thought of sharing the same water with Hermione to be rather intimate, and he couldn't stop the shiver that ran down his spine. The alcohol acting as some last minute courage, Severus got up and headed to the deep end of the pool, the others too engrossed in their game to notice him.

The thought of jumping in would've seemed appealing had he been alone, but given the company he settled for sitting on the edge and quietly sliding in. His was around eight feet deep, but he didn't mind treading water. Checking that he was still being unobserved, he stopped kicking his legs and dropped under, getting his hair wet and enjoying being cooled off by the soft water that surrounded him. He loved swimming.

Emerging, he slicked his hair back, and checked in on the game. George and Hermione had ganged up on Harry and were close to getting him thrown off of Fred's shoulders. Severus glanced to Sirius's hands and wasn't pleased with what he found. His hands were up much much higher than Severus would've liked, and he hoped that Hermione felt the same way. He would have to put an end to this. Now.

Tapping into his wandless magic, Severus caused a small torpedo of water to wrap around Sirius's legs, pulling his feet out from under him. Sirius dropped down onto his knees, dislodging his hands from Hermione and Hermione from his shoulders. She went tumbling off and into the water. Oops.

Black came up sputtering, complaining of an injured knee, the remaining gentlemen laughing their heads off. Hermione came out of the water, a strained look on her face. Severus could see blood starting to float upwards from her, looking like bright red smoke in the water. This wasn't supposed to happen. He couldn't help but curse quietly and swim over.

Hermione made her way to the edge of the pool and lifted herself out, shifting around to leave her legs dangling in the water. The was quite the abrasion on her right inner thigh, just near her bathing suit bottoms. Her hand was hovering near, trying to get a clean look at the skin around the blood.

Severus came to a stop a respectable distance away, but still near enough that he could help her. He had caused her to bleed; it seemed only proper that he be the one to fix it. She didn't startle at his nearness, instead relaxing her legs as he got nearer to her. He floated closer and stood next to her leg. He could feel the heat of her skin emanating from her into him through the cold water. It felt wonderful.

He looked down at her thigh, at the blood, at her pale skin that was now visible from a shifted bikini bottom. He was glad that he had taken that potion.

He wanted to undo the tie on the bottom of her suit with his teeth and find the rest of her pale skin with his tongue and taste her blood on his lips and Merlin when did he get so kinky?

Calm yourself, Severus. You need to calm the fuck down. Right now.

Focus.

He reached out a hand and let it hover just above her injury, sending his magic through his hand and into her leg, healing her and removing the blood.

She looked up, surprised. Their eyes met, hers saying 'thank you', his desperately trying to say anything but 'love me, damn it!'.

"Thank you." Her voice was quiet, but confident.

"Of course, Ms. Granger." He didn't know how he managed to breathe this close to her, let alone speak coherently.

By now Sirius had calmed down and the other males had seen what had happened.

"I'm sorry, Mione. I don't even know what happened." Black didn't even look put off, he simply glared at Severus.

"See that it doesn't happen again, Black." Severus's tone was biting. Anyone else would know not to mess with him. Sirius, on the other hand, wasn't exactly the brightest star in the sky.

"It's none of your business, Snape, so I suggest you stay out of it." Severus only glared. Sirius continued. "It's not like anyone got seriously injured."

Severus wished that someone had been seriously injured. Just not Hermione. He felt terrible that he had caused her pain, let alone caused her to bleed.

With a final glare at the males in the pool, unable to meet Hermione's eyes, Severus turned and swam away, getting out of the pool and conjuring a black towel. He could feel eyes burning into his exposed body, but he didn't look back. It hadn't gone nearly as well as he had hoped.

If he had decided to turn and look back, he would've noticed the one pair of eyes that wasn't looking at him. Rather, Hermione was staring down at her leg, her hand hovering over where his had been, a blush on her cheeks and her insides tingling.

SSHG

A/N: One chapter left, folks. Thanks for reading! :D


	5. Chapter 5

Severus lay back on his bed, eyes shut, mentally berating himself for experiencing such a failure of a day. True, he had made it down to the pool, down to her level, had even come exceptionally close to touching her. But it wasn't enough. He came off as a total creep and now she would never so much as look at him again. It's not like she even really looked at him as it was. He should've waited longer, waited until he could've found his tongue like a normal human being and used it for something other than drooling, like talking, perhaps.

He had ruined his chances and was wallowing in his misery. He was such an idiot.

A knock sounded on his door and he jumped visibly on the bed. No one ever knocked at his door. He cast a quick charm and was surprised to see that it was already half past eleven at night. Who in the world would disturb him this late?

He got up and went to the door, hesitating for just a moment, his hand hovering over the doorknob. It couldn't be her. Wouldn't be. He turned the knob and stepped back. It was.

What?

"Hi." Was that him? He didn't know that his voice could squeak like that. He hadn't meant to say anything. Why did he say anything.

She giggled. At least that was a plus.

"Hi."

She was wearing an unreasonably large Gryffindor shirt and from what he could tell no form of bottom clothing. His heart nearly stopped before he noticed the bikini strings that were sticking out around her neck. She had her bathing suit on underneath. It was almost midnight, why would she have her bathing suit on this late?

"Can I help you?" He had no idea how he had managed to choke that out, but he decided to go for it.

"I hope so." She gave him a shy, innocent smile. "I noticed that your swimming time got cut a bit short today."

He had absolutely no idea where she was going with this. He felt embarrassed that she noticed his awkward retreat earlier. She didn't have to bring it up. Severus hoped that she wouldn't continue on the subject, but he had a terrible, sinking feeling that that was exactly why she was here.

"Yes, you could say that." He opted for a detached formality. Hermione's eyes held a strange glimmer.

"I was wondering if you wanted to join me for a swim now?"

He fought the urge to clean out his ears. What?

"What?" Surely she couldn't be serious.

"I mean, if you don't want to that's fine." Her eyes had dropped a little.

"No! No, it's fine." He needed to get a grip on himself. And not the kind he wanted her to get on him.

"Really?"

"Yes." They were both awkwardly quiet for a moment. "I merely needed a moment for my brain to process what you had said. I'm rather tired."

Hermione thought a moment, almost biting back her words.

"If you'd rather head to bed, that's perfectly fine. I understand."

He hadn't lied. He was tired. But he'd rather make a tired fool of himself during some alone time with her than lie in his bed full of regret.

"A swim sounds lovely." He voice didn't come out quiet as strong as he had hoped.

"Great!" Her face had lit up. He was so confused. "I'll meet you down by the pool in ten minutes."

Hermione and her smile walked off and Severus shut the door. He had nine minutes to figure out what the hell was wrong with him before he went and had a private swim with Hermione Granger. Someone kill him now.

SSHGSSHG

After taking another magic erection stopping potion, reapplying his concealment spells and transfiguring his clothing back into swim trunks and a black t-shirt, Severus headed downstairs, hoping beyond hope that he wouldn't run into anyone and have to explain himself. To his extreme luck, the house was blissfully silent. Everyone was asleep. Except for the beautiful girl sitting on the edge of the pool who by some miracle had decided that she wanted to spend her night with him.

He shut the door to the kitchen behind him and made his way over to where Hermione was sitting. Hearing the click of the latch, she turned around to look at him, a small smile lighting up her face. It was near pitch black outside, the only light source being a half full moon and the light next to the back door. Severus had a wonderful view from his current vantage point, but he knew that once they were in the water, neither of them would be able to see very well. This was both perfect for her and an absolute nightmare. So much for more images of a bikini clad Hermione to lock into his mind.

During his internal musings, Hermione had stood from the edge of the pool and walked over to him.

"Hey." Severus waited for a followup to her introduction. When he didn't receive one, he figured he'd have to say something.

"Hi." His voice sounded strange to him amidst the night sky. He hoped that she didn't think so.

"Are you ready?" She clearly was. Without waiting for an answer, Hermione turned and walked over to the chair she was at before, her towel once again waiting for her. As she walked, Severus saw her arms cross in front of her body, grasping the bottom sides of her shirt, and lift. Severus stopped breathing. Not in a poetic metaphorical way, but in a literal, his lungs were empty of oxygen for a prolonged period of time, way. There was just something about watching her disrobe that was doing crazy, wonderful, awful things to his insides.

Hermione threw her shirt casually onto the chair and adjusted her newly transfigured white bikini. She turned back to Severus, feigning a shy smile and headed for the water.

"C'mon." She ran the last few steps and dove rather elegantly into the dark water. Leaving very little splash and very little saliva in Severus's mouth, he too headed to towards the chair.

Hermione emerged from the water, her hair slicked back, water clinging to her skin in a way that Severus found most fetching. He felt painfully awkward, even more so knowing that he had to disrobe in front of her. Although, he supposed that if he had to strip in front of anyone, he was glad that it was her. He had a feeling that she wouldn't judge him, despite his scars and Dark Mark concealed.

Hermione watched him unashamedly from the cover of the dark pool. She watched as his long fingers grabbed on his shirt, how the muscles in his lower back rippled as he pulled the fabric up, how his nipples hardened in the night air. She felt her breath catch. She was so glad that she found the courage to ask him to come out tonight. It was worth it if she only got to see him take off his shirt. More than worth it.

Severus threw his shirt down on top of Hermione's and turned towards where she was treading in the water. He stretched his neck and torso slightly, feeling strange being shirtless outside at night. It was different somehow. He tried to gauge Hermione's expression, but found himself unable from the glare of the back outside light. With a wave of his hand, the light went out and Severus found his eyes adjusting to seeing in only the scarce moonlight. He was glad that he had very good night vision.

He heard her giggle and was pleased with himself. It appeared that he was at least doing something right.

Severus walked over to the edge of the pool, braced one arm against the lip and jumped in. It was the most dignified way that he could think of. He ducked the rest of his body under the water, wetting his hair and slicking it back. He hoped that he didn't look too awful with his hair like that.

He could see Hermione's face a bit better now, and somehow he found the courage to swim over to her. He stopped about a foot away and floated in the water before her, hardly needing to tread. They were both silent, listening to the sounds of the summer night. Finally, he spoke up.

"Hi." It was possibly the dumbest thing that he could've said, but he didn't know what else to say.

She laughed and swam closer to him.

"Hi." Hermione reached out a hand under water, coming close towards his skin. He couldn't see it, but he could feel the water shift between them. He froze. He didn't know what to do. Her hand finally touched his skin, softer than even the water. He couldn't believe how soft her touch felt.

Her hand had landed on the lower part of his left flank, the tips of her fingers teasing over the bones of his ribcage.

It felt beautiful.

She was beautiful.

He could hardly look at her. He couldn't believe what was happening. How had she known how he felt? Had he given something away? Had someone else found out and told her? Was she taking a literal shot in the dark, actually having feelings for him, and hoping that he wouldn't turn her away? He didn't know what was happening. He didn't know what to do.

So he did nothing. He let her lead.

Severus let out a breath and leaned into Hermione's hand, her palm now touching his skin. He heard her own intake of breath and hoped that he did the right thing. He could feel the water shifting again, and he felt her other hand land on his right flank. Both hands were now firmly touching him.

Hermione slid her hands across his rib cage and around to meet on his smooth back, her fingers interlocking. She kicked forward gently, now close enough that their chests were almost touching. She took a deep breath and leaned her head against his shoulder, her lips hovering next to his neck, the water coming up over her chin.

Severus's chest wasn't moving.

"Breathe." Her voice should've echoed into the night. Instead, it was a butterfly command between the two of them and she felt his chest start to rise and fall, slowly.

Severus knew that he was dying. Her lips had brushed against his neck when she spoke and he could feel the heat of her body against his through the water between them. He was dying, and he had no idea what to do about it.

"How long have you...?" His body spoke without permission, but left the question open-ended. How long had she known of his feelings? He long had she had feelings for him? How long had she wanted to do this? Waited to do this?

She moved closer to him in the water, their chests now fully touching, her arms now wrapping around him completely.

"About as long as you, I'd expect." So she did know. He didn't know how, but she knew.

"You know that we can't... Not until..." He apparently had difficultly completing his sentences around her. He didn't mind. She seemed to know perfectly what he was saying.

"I know." He shivered, not from the cold in the warm night. Every time she spoke, her lips moved against his neck. It was heaven. "Not until I'm old enough."

"Ten months." He sighed out the number, personally offended at its existence.

"Ten months." Her echo showed just how much she agreed with him.

"Then why...?" He gestured vaguely around them with hands that until then had been too afraid to do anything other than hang uselessly at his sides. She snuggled in closer to him and he finally brought his arms around her, his hands encompassing the opposite sides of her waist.

"We're not doing anything wrong. It's just touching."

"Just touching?" His voice, though quiet, betrayed his confusion.

"Yes. Just touching. There's nothing wrong with just touching." Her lips came closer, resting permanently against his neck. He almost stopped breathing again.

"Nothing wrong..." He sighed out, closing his eyes, and pulled her against him as tightly as he could. She squealed and he couldn't help but smile. Just touching. She was right. There was nothing wrong with just touching.

Admittedly he wanted a hell of a lot more than just touching, but for now he was more than willing to take what he could get. Besides, her skin against his felt like sweet nirvana. He was almost certain that his body was getting high off of the experience.

"Is there a limit," his voice croaked out, dampened by emotion, "to just touching?"

Hermione was quiet for a moment, pondering.

"I think that perhaps there is" He sighed. He was afraid of that.

"What would you consider the limit?" She thought again, longer this time, before responding.

"I think that when the touching becomes more of a three-sixty touch, if you catch my drift." He did. He didn't like it, but agreed that it was reasonable.

"Understood." He nuzzled down into her wet hair, placing a kiss upon her head. By her logic, basic kisses were fair game, something that he was quite pleased with. Also by her logic, there was something else that was fair game.

He pulled away, looking into her eyes as best as he could in the low light.

"How's your leg?" She looked confused for a moment before realizing that he meant the cut on her thigh that he had fixed earlier in the day.

"It's much better. No pain, and not even a scar, thanks to you." She smiled and rubbed her hands along his back beneath the water. He held back a shiver.

"Are you certain? I could check on it if you'd like?" He tried to make his voice sound more seductive and less creepy. He still wasn't sure where he stood with her. Even if she was okay with his touch, that didn't necessarily mean that she had feelings for him.

She laughed quietly before answering. "I think that that might be wise."

She kissed his cheek and moved to swim over to the side of the pool.

"No, wait." She stopped, confused. He gentled his voice. "Over here."

Severus swam over to the diving board in the deep end of the pool, holding on to the edge on the right side, hidden in the shadows. He heard her swimming behind him and felt her wrap her arms around him once she reached him.

"I think I understand now." He could feel her smirk against his back and was pleased that her mind might just be just as dirty as his was. He reached behind him, wrapping an arm around her, and pulled her around so her back rested against the wall of the pool, her body trapped between his arms, held in place by his own. Their bodies were completely enshadowed by the diving board. Someone could be standing on the edge of the shallow end and not be able to see them. They were completely safe from everyone else. It was just the two of them inside the night. It was perfect.

He loomed over her, again going for seductive and not creepy or intimidating, and ran his hand down the side of her body, coming to rest on her hip. She had a hand resting on his shoulder, her other above her head, holding onto the cement edge of the pool.

Severus leaned down, stopping with his lips just a breath away from hers. He felt the water move as she pushed herself forward, bringing their lips together. It was heaven. Instant heaven. He had never felt anything like it before. Her lips were soft against his and he could taste the chlorine on them from the water. It wasn't bad.

She moved her mouth slowly against his and he didn't even mind that it wasn't the hot, passionate taking that he had imagined. Slow was good. Just like touching was. He pulled her as close to him as possible, needing to feel all of her skin against his own. The water only seemed to amplify every touch. The night amplified the sound and deafened him all at once. He could hear the crickets and the stars and the sounds of her breathing and it was everything he could've imagined wanting.

He moved his hand from her waist to her neck, threading his fingers through the damp hair there and pulling her mouth closer to his. She didn't resist. Hermione pressed her mouth harder into his, her tongue slipping out for only a moment to tease him. Cheeky little minx. She knew that french kissing would qualify as three-sixty touching and that it was something that they couldn't do. Clearly licking was allowed then. He had been right.

With more willpower than he knew he possessed, Severus moved his mouth away from Hermione's and switched over to her neck, bringing his knee higher up beneath the water to give her somewhere to perch on so he could have unimpeded access. Her skin tasted of summer. Of sunlight and water and stars and heat and everything he never knew could be so good. He bit down lightly, not really taking her skin in so he wouldn't break their rule. He kissed everywhere he could reach: her neck, her chin, her cheeks, her eyes, her nose, and finally, he returned to her lips, if only for a moment. He returned her earlier tease and licked at her lips, taking pride at her giggle.

With a final, hard, kiss to her lips, he pulled back and looked down at her perfectly disheveled appearance. In all reality, he could only really see her eyes, but for Hermione Granger, wild eyes were enough to admit her disheveled. Severus wished that he could see her lips. He desperately needed to know if they were swollen from his kiss.

Bracing one arm against the wall of the pool, Severus wrapped his other arm around Hermione's waist and hoisted her out of the water. Catching on to his idea, she assisted his lifting her by planting her feet on the wall and lifting, too. Between the two of them, Severus was able to place Hermione on the side of the pool, sitting comfortably. It didn't escape either of their notices that her legs were spread to accommodate his head, as they had been earlier in the day. While the upper half of Hermione's body could now be seen in the low light, her lower half as well as Severus still remained invisible in the shadows.

Severus placed a kiss on each of her knees before coming in closer, placing kisses on each inner thigh. He looked up at her from an angle at which Hermione could only make out the glow of his dark eyes in the shadows. He was waiting on her to continue.

Licking her lips, Hermione brought her hands to the back of her professor's head and threaded her fingers through his wet hair. It was enough of a yes for him.

Reaching out of the water, Severus untied the sides of Hermione's suit bottoms. Placing his arms around her legs, planting his hands on the cement, he lifted himself out of the water, bringing his mouth to just below her bellybutton. Opening his mouth, Severus's teeth latched onto the material of her suit and brought it down towards him, lowering his body back into the pool as he did so.

Severus could barely see in the shadows, but he knew that Hermione was perfect. He could smell her around the chlorine and it was driving his senses insane. He coaxed her body to perch further on the edge of the pool, the removed part of her bottoms now fallen into the water.

Severus wrapped his arms around the outsides of Hermione's legs and held onto the concrete barrier. His feet somehow still treading water without his brain actively telling them too, Severus didn't waste any time and brought his head forward and licked at her skin. She was wet and not just from the water. He could taste her own wet heat against the artificial chlorine and knew that it was all he ever needed to consume again. Just her. He wanted to thrust his tongue inside her, to show her what he was more than willing and capable of doing to her in the future, but it violated their rule. He didn't know how he managed to show such restraint. Perhaps because it was her. It was her who was asking him, and who was he to deny her?

He licked from her opening up to her clit and heard her gasp. It was a beautiful sound backdropped against the night. He could listen to it forever. He licked again and was again rewarded.

Severus set to his task with vigor, still unbelieving that it was happening. That she was willing to let him give her this pleasure. That she was with him. Wanted him. A part of him was still shocked that he had found her so wet, but even now there was no denying the proof. Her hands had tightened in his hair with each lick and the skin of her thighs was wetter than if she had been underwater.

Shifting all of his weight to his left arm, Severus brought his right arm up to play with her clit, leaving his tongue free to lick and taste at her core. He knew that he couldn't violate their rule, but if on one or two passing licks his tongue somehow managed to slip inside of her, leaving her back arching and her lips crying out, well then he was none the wiser. He was in complete and total heaven. He knew that life would never be the same after this. He wanted her, needed her in his life. Continuously. Ten months was a long time now, but short compared to the time he wished to spend with her. Ten months and she would be his. He would just have to make sure that she still wanted to be after all that time.

Now was as good a time as any to start, so he doubled he efforts and was rewarded by her scratching her nails through his long hair. It was a pleasurable pain that he would find himself craving in upcoming months. His mouth was devouring her, her sighs and screams trying to remain silent in the quiet night. He thought she sounded beautiful, blending in with the sounds of the summer seamlessly. He wanted her louder, in fact. But they couldn't have the others find them, even if they were just touching. He could've cast a spell, but found that he was too enamored with his task that he couldn't have cast a first year charm. Her fingers were getting tighter, her legs clamping around his head and he knew that she was close. He felt the muscles in her abdomen contract, her body hunching nearly in two, her head nearly touching his, and she hissed out his name in a sound that had he had the ability he would've come on the spot.

Her muscles released and Hermione fell back onto the warm concrete, Severus taking the time to continue licking her up as much as he could. By the time he was finished, her breathing had regulated again and her heart rate had dropped down to a much more respectable number.

Going against his instincts, Severus retied her bikini bottoms together. He reached up to grab Hermione's hands and brought her back down into the water, holding her still somewhat limp body in his arms. He kissed her head and then her lips, transferring her own taste as well as that of the chlorine onto her. She kissed back tiredly, her arms wrapping around his neck.

They kissed softly for a few moments before Severus pulled back.

"I think I rather like your theories on just touching." Hermione hmmmed a pleased reply and nuzzled closer to him. "However... " He trailed off, seeming unsure of himself. Hermione found strength in her legs and moved back to tread on her own, looking him in the eyes as best she could.

"What is it?" Her voice was quiet, almost as unsure as he was.

"If I were to find out that you were just touching anyone else over the next ten months, I fear that we may have some problems." He needed her to know that he did not, would not, share. Not now. Not after what they had just experienced. Even if they technically wouldn't be together, he still considered her his.

Hermione smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him. Turning into him, she whispered into his ear, "Don't worry. I don't think that'll be a problem. So long as you don't just touch anyone else either."

Her words washed over his damp ear and made him shiver. He sighed. It was going to be a long ten months.

A/N: And that's all folks. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and encouraging me to go farther than just a one-shot with it. I hope that you've all enjoyed it! :D If I can enough feedback from it, I could possibly be persuaded to do a sequel. Let me know!


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys! Thank you all for being so patient with me about this story. I'm pleased to announce that the first chapter of _Countdown_ the sequel to this story is now posted. I know author's notes aren't supposed to be entire chapters, but I wanted to make sure that everyone that was so invested in the first short story would be able to learn about the sequel.

I would also like to address a plot point that someone pointed out. I had a moment of complete brain lapse and in Chapter 1 said Sirius was dead and then in Chapter 3 or 4 I included him as a character. I guess I just wanted to include his death as a well to tell that the story was set summer before sixth year, but I just enjoyed the jealous aspect that he could evoke from Severus. So I guess it's up to you, dear reader! I don't think I'll really be using Sirius in any of the remaining chapters, so I don't think that it matters much if he's dead or alive.

In any case, I'm rambling. From the absolute bottom of my heart, I think you all for your unending support with this story and I hope that you enjoy the sequel just as much as the first!


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